Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Nirvana
1994

Amateurs would say that the Nirvana song to make any Top 100 list would have to be “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”  A fine song.  A revolutionary song, really.  But if you want the best of Nirvana, there is but one choice and this is it.

I like Nirvana.  I always thought Pearl Jam was and is the superior band because they demonstrated a broader musical range from the outset.  As great and as influential as Nevermind was, it also was a very heavy album, with a lot of distortion (I can hear you saying “well duh there was distortion, this was the epicenter of the grunge movement.”  You can sit back down now, thank you.). And so as much as I liked Nevermind and In Utero, they both felt like they were heavy, noisy albums with a lot Kurt Cobain wailing (which is great in its own right, don’t get me wrong!).  And, if I’m being honest, I always thought Nirvana got an extra bounce of public adulation because of Cobain’s suicide.

However.  And it’s a big however:  Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged album is in its own class as one of the greatest albums ever made.  I think it’s *for sure* the greatest live album ever released (the bar is kinda set a bit low there, admittedly).  And so I think the huge caveat about knocking Nirvana’s range is to simply point to this album as the antithesis to that view, and you would not be wrong.  It clearly demonstrates that Nirvana, and Kurt Cobain in particular, had amazing depth that sadly we didn’t get to see more of because Kurt was gone too soon.

Every single track on that album is amazing, but it’s the final track that is just mind-blowing.  First of all, we’re talking about a cover of a song that dates back to the 1870s from Southern Appalachia, with the interpretation in question dating back to a blues musician named Lead Belly who recorded his version in the 1940s.  Listen to this and then tell me who in their right mind would’ve thought, “man, I hope Nirvana one day does a cover of this song, that would be amazing.”  Not a single person in the history of the world ever had that thought.

Second of all, we’re talking about an absolutely incredible performance of this obscure song.  Watch the video.  Watch the emotion Kurt puts into it.  Especially once he starts going with the “My girl!” refrain (at the 3:55 mark in the video).  And, if you’re not like me and you haven’t been watching this video at least once every few months, don’t forget to take in Kurt opening those blue eyes for just a moment (at the 4:49 mark) which just magnifies the intensity with which he sang this song.

There are some great oral histories of this night, and I get goosebumps every time I watch this, but I’ll just put it very simply:  this is one of the greatest performances in music history.  It was a no-brainer decision for the Top 100.

Other Songs Considered:
In Bloom (the actual best song off Nevermind), Come As You Are, Heart Shaped Box, All Apologies, About a Girl (MTV Unplugged version), Smells Like Teen Spirit